Experimental investigation of the modes of operation of uncontrolled attitude motion of the Progress spacecraft

Results of in-flight tests of three modes of uncontrolled attitude motion of the Progress spacecraft are described. These proposed modes of experiments related to microgravity are as follows: (1) triaxial gravitational orientation, (2) gravitational orientation of the rotating satellite, and (3) spin-up in the plane of the orbit around the axis of the maximum moment of inertia. The tests were carried out from May 24 to June 1, 2004 onboard the spacecraft Progress M1-11. The actual motion of this spacecraft with respect to its center of mass, in the above-mentioned modes, was determined by telemetric information about an electric current tapped off from solar batteries. The values of the current obtained during a time interval of several hours were processed jointly using the least squares method by integration of the equations of the spacecraft’s attitude motion. The processing resulted in estimation of the initial conditions of motion and of the parameters of mathematical models used. For the obtained motions the quasi-static component of microaccelerations was computed at a point onboard, where installation of experimental equipment is possible.